Event Details

*21+ Only

Join filmmakers Rajiv Shah and Darius Seddiqui as they raise funds to complete THE ROAD TO GRAND ISLE, a documentary about the BP oil spill. The fundraiser will host a sneak preview of selected footage from the film, open bar, appetizers, and a live DJ.

SYNOPSIS:

On
April 20, 2010 news of an offshore drilling rig named DEEPWATER HORIZON
exploded off the coast of Louisiana. The rig was gushing 35,000 to
60,000 barrels of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico, killing animals,
the ecosystem, and a way of life that has stood for over a hundred
years. Fisherman, business owners, and citizens of the Louisiana
communities hit hardest by the oil spill - Hopedale, Shell Beach, and
Grand Isle became the focus of the documentary, THE ROAD TO GRAND ISLE.

Filmmakers
Darius Seddiqui and Rajiv Shah watched as news reports relayed stories
of the corporate and political fallout due to the disaster. They knew
they weren’t getting the complete story and decided that sitting at home
and watching the news wasn’t enough. As BP proclaimed that the oil was
disappearing, Darius and Rajiv put their lives on hold and hit the road
for Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Rajiv
and Darius arrived in Louisiana to find communities and lives under
distress. The tragedy was that the communities devastated by Hurricane
Katrina were slowly rebuilding - returning to normalcy - until the BP
oil spill. As one fisherman expressed, “This is worse than Katrina - we
are able to rebuild after a hurricane. We know hurricanes, that’s
natural, it’s been happening ever since our families settled here over a
hundred years ago, but this oil spill... It’s man-made, and frankly, we
don’t know how to recover from this.” These are the voices that make up
the heart of ROAD TO GRAND ISLE, voices belonging to people that are
slowly fading from the news and public consciousness. People that are
losing their homes and a way of life that we felt was worth fighting
for. Home
is not a collection of 4x4s nailed together. Katrina already proved
that by lifting those structures from the ground and carrying them away.
Communities are made up of homes, those were gone. Homes are made up of
families, many lost the ones they loved most. What was left was the
heart of the people in Louisiana - of those that stayed to rebuild their
homes in the aftermath - people like you and me.

THE
ROAD TO GRAND ISLE is not a story about financial compensation, it
cannot be, as there is no price tag on your home. As Americans, the
coastal communities of Louisiana share the same fight for life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness as the rest of the country. Let their
voice be heard. Join us in raising the necessary funds to bring THE ROAD TO GRAND ISLE to the big screen.